Posts Tagged ‘Star Wars’

I have to admit I was a bit nervous trying to come up with an idea to follow Monday’s strip. I had received so much positive feedback for what I felt was a relatively simple notion, I felt pressure to one-up my previous effort. If today’s strip is a case of over-kill, I wouldn’t know it. I’ve been stressing too much to see past it.

All things the same, I think it turned out pretty well. Can you figure out all the geek-related material I’m spoofing? They’re all pretty easy to identify. I was going to label them in the blog, but then I realized my audience isn’t a gaggle of dum-dums. Thank God for that!

Like everyone else, when seeing The Matrix Reloaded, the question isn’t “If” but “When”? I’m trying to figure it out. Part of me would like to be in line Thursday night – to experience that anticipation like the event it is. Then I step back and realize that I’m supposed to be responsible and go to work on Friday. That, coupled with the fact I would draw Friday’s strip Thursday night all but nix the option to see it opening day.

Fortunately, one of the side-effects of being responsible is being patient. I can wait – barely.

I’d like to point out that posters are still for sale and that if you would like to support the site, PLEASE BUY ONE! We’re nearly reached the half way point, now let’s finish strong!

I’ve received several orders through the mail – checks, money orders and cash. So if you’re not comfortable mailing a payment through PayPal, e-mail me and we can make other arrangements!

Last thing I’ll mention: I know I’ve talked about it a million times before. But I am very close to bringing back the forum.

Early fans of the site might remember I had one for a month or two, then put the kibosh on it when I decided the readership wasn’t large enough to support it. I’ve always maintained that I would bring it back if I felt it could stand on it’s own two legs. It looks like that time is rapidly approaching. So get ready for that.

Oh, I almost forgot. If you’re not too busy, could you be sure to Montana Hills and would love to settle in to the number 13 spot on the list sometime soon. Lucky 13!

Today’s strip was stripped almost verbatim from a conversation Jared and I had at lunch earlier in the week. He wasn’t as blunt as he is in the punchline, but I could tell he was thinking it!

The strip might give the impression that I’ve grown tired of Samuel L. Jackson’s choice of characters or that I don’t want to see S.W.A.T. this weekend. Nothing could be further from the truth. I actually enjoy his performances a great deal. It’s fun to watch an actor who seems like he’s really enjoying himself.

Still, you can’t deny the observation. There seems to be less carefully crafted character work in his cannon post-Pulp Fiction than there was before it.

Sure there are some interesting stretches like The Red Violin or The Cavemen’s Valentine, but most of his mainstream work stays close to the Jules Winnfield template.

I wonder if a breakout role like that is more of a luxury or a burden? Does the public expect a certain level of outlandishness from Jackson having come to be familiar with him through that signature role? Is he anything like that in real life, or is he more even-tempered?

Either way, I enjoy watching him on screen and find him a fascinating actor. Much like Christopher Walken or Jack Nicholson, we let him get away with so much more because his charisma is more interesting to watch than anything he could craft on screen. It’s rare and a real treat.

I also wanted to thank all the people who sent me congratulations for Theater Hopper’s first year. Stepping back for a minute, it really is an accomplishment. But the thanks should go to you guys for being so supportive.

Brian Carroll from Instant Classic sent me an excellent piece of artwork to commemorate the occasion and it has found a home on the Bonus Materials page. You should really take a look at it. I’m very proud of it – mostly for what it symbolizes: The great friends I’ve made from doing this strip.

There are also three new pieces of fan art, sent in from a week or two ago when I was asking for guest strips. I ran out of spots to display them on the front page, but that’s not a reason to hide this work away from the public! All three strips are quality and appreciate the effort that went into every one of them!

So as you can see, I’ve rounded out the last four of the Ten Commandments of Movie Watching. I know there was some anticipation out there waiting to see where it ended up. I hope you aren’t disappointed. If anything, I hope you enjoyed getting an extra comic on Tuesday. Keep checking the site. You’ll get another extra comic tomorrow.

I wanted to mention that I finally got off my can and updated some sections in the Bonus Materials area. I placed last week’s guest comic as well as a couple others from when I went to New York for New Year’s Eve. You can check them out here.

I also updated the cameo page. This is where I hook you up with all the little appearances Theater Hopper characters have turned up across web comic land. This time through, there are two more to add to the list. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom on both pages for the new stuff.

I still have some art to add to the “guest strips that I’ve drawn” page as well as to the fan art section. I feel awful, because I’ve been sitting on some of this stuff for a long time. But it’s a start, right?

Beyond that, nothing much to say. I’m VERY excited for the weekend’s movie offerings. Kill Bill Vol. 2 predominantly on my mind. I’m also looking forward to seeing The Punisher, even though I know it will suck horribly. It’ll be a bittersweet few days. But I gotta support the boys at Marvel. If anything, I’m brand-loyal.

Anyway, I’ll be sure to hit all these topics more in the next few days. Until then, take it easy!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is coming out this Friday, and as much as I’m not looking forward to trying to remember how to spell “Azkaban” each time I write in this space (A word I will continue to mispronounce until the day I die), I AM looking forward to the movie. SO much, in fact that all of this week’s buzzComix incentive sketches have a Harry Potter theme. Click here for the very first one – Tom as Hagrid!

Sorry for the lateness of today’s comic, but Memorial Day festivities got in the way. I’m sure you understand. At any rate, a comic Monday afternoon is better than no comic at all!

I feel that I’ve accurately depicted the social order of Potter-mania in the Brazelton household. Cami is a much bigger fan than I am. She’s read all of the books. Even that last one that weighed a metric ton. I’ve only seen the movies. I enjoy the franchise, I’m not just as obsessive as some people are about it.

Don’t get me wrong. I think what J.K. Rowling has done for children’s literature is phenomenal success. But I can’t get wrapped up in books who’s entire core has been forged out of nonsensical slang words like “Hufflepuff”, “remembral” “McGonagall” and “Dumbledore” – all of which cause the spellchecker in my copy of Microsoft Word to freak out and sternly say “No. Just…no.” Incidentally, it’s the same reason I could never get into A Clockwork Orange. Just couldn’t work my way around the lexicon. Oh, those Brits and their funny words! Think I’m kidding? One word: Teletubbies.

# THE REST OF THIS BLOG WAS LOST WHEN THEATER HOPPER MOVED TO WORDPRESS IN JANUARY 2009 #

So in addition to The Incredibles doing over $70 million in box office this weekend, the big movie news is the release of the Star Wars: Episode III – The Revenge of the Sith teaser poster and trailer.

Personally, I’m not bowled over. I felt they spent too much time highlighting the footage from the older movies and then whizzing past anything of interesting from the new movie after that.

Perhaps my expectations are a little high – it is a TEASER trailer, after all. But, surprisingly, watching the Episode III teaser has not whetted my appetite in the least in regards to seeing this movie. It has a very rushed feeling. Not in the sense that there are a lot of quick edits and all the images are slapped together. But almost like someone forgot that it was due. I’m just imagining some guy out at LucasFilm looking at his Palm Pilot saying “So when does this movie come out? MAY 19TH?! CRAP! Quick! Get a teaser trailer out there!”

All I’m saying is that I remember back in 1998 when the teaser for Episode I – The Phantom Menace came out. I was sitting in my dorm room back at college, taking advantage of the high speed internet connection and I watched that trailer with the sound cranked up. I had chills. It was that good.

Fast forward to 2004 and I think the older generation of Star Wars fans have come to the grim conclusion that George Lucas is not making these movies for us, but the next generation of 8 year-olds that want to wield a light saber. Sure, we’ll all plunk down our cash for the last chapter, but we all know the soul evaporated from this franchise a long time ago… in a galaxy far, far away.

…Marin County, California…

Something I totally forgot last week and I’ve been kicking myself over was the guest strip I did for Joe and Monkey. Zach posted it on Friday and I totally ignored it! I have no excuse. He even e-mailed me to remind me.

I’d also like to point out our new sponsors, Niego and Wacky Comics. Both two excellent web comics for your entertainment purposes. I really dig Niego’s style. It’s simple, yet expressive. It looks like it would have no problem fitting into a syndicated comics page of a large-circulation newspaper. Wacky Comics recently celebrated their 100th comic and it has a very playful style.

I saw The Incredibles this weekend and I’m still thinking about it. I’m thinking about it SO much in fact, that I’m trying to put together an honest-to-goodness review for you guys to read! It’s been a LONG time since I’ve done one of those.

Oh, by the way. Those of you that ordered shirts? Well, I got an e-mail from the printer and the shirts are being shipped to me TODAY. That means I should have them in the next couple of days and you guys will get your shirts before Thanksgiving! How does that sound!

Another Star Wars comic? Why not? It’s in the news right now and it’s good to kind of dust off some old nerd jokes before we’re deluged with Star Wars coverage next May. I thought the idea of a Star Wars fan club sounded funny and ran with it. Expect a continuation of today’s strip on Friday.

I’m kind of trying something new with how I’m rendering the background and the environment the characters reside in When Theater Hopper started, it was pretty much just a couple of characters in front of a colored background. Eventually, I moved up to gradients. Then evolved toward putting two gradients together to form the illusion of two walls meeting at a corner. Sometimes I would toss in a window to complete the effect.

But I’ve always felt that that background should be more realistic. Or, at least as realistic as the characters in the strip to create a wholly realized situation. So I’m experimenting a little bit.

I took digital pictures of my kitchen and family room last night and used them as a point of reference when drawing Tom and Cami. Later, I went into Adobe Illustrator and used the pen tool to create the shelves, cabinets and walls in the background. It didn’t really turn out the way I wanted to. Everything looks slightly skewed. Not as tidy as I hoped. I think it was a mistake to outline everything in black. The colors should look more natural, like its part of the bigger background piece. I ended up blurring it to try and create depth, then scaled back the colors because it was competing too much with the foreground.

Obviously all of this is a learning process, but I need to find a way to create more realistic backgrounds more efficiently. I know some of you are saying “Why don’t you try drawing them by hand, Tom.” And in the past, I have. But it’s often too time consuming and not as clean as I would like it to be.

I know some people have complimented me for the use of photos in the backgrounds, but that’s always felt like a cheat to me and lazy. Plus, it becomes inconsistent with other comics in the archive. Sometimes within the same comic!

I know other artists sometimes use 3D rendering programs to help them grasp the clean lines and perspectives of walls, buildings, windows

First things first. TODAY IS YOUR LAST DAY TO PRE-ORDER APPAREL! If you want to pre-order a shirt, baby doll or hoodie – MIDNIGHT TONIGHT IS THE DEADLINE! After that, I send the artwork and the order into the printer and we go about the task of getting you your shirts.

Orders have been strong, but if we can make one, final push, it will position me closer toward my goal of having a standing inventory from which I can send you the shirts directly upon receipt instead of having to arrange a pre-order and making you guys wait.

Many thanks to those of who have purchased shirts already. I appreciate your support! Hopefully in the future I will be able to maintain the store more long-term than opening and closing it based off inventory.

Now, regarding that pesky web comic!…

I felt kind of bad of making you guys wait for the punch line that should have rightly been included in Friday’s comic. So today I’ve treated you to twice the tattoo action for one low price!

I’m pretty happy with how this arc turned out – especially revealing that Judge Cann is a Star Wars nerd. People wondered why he wouldn’t understand the reference Tom made to his name back on May 9. All along it was because he was a Star Wars nerd and not a Star Trek nerd! See how it all comes together?!

At any rate, while the “nerd justice” storyline has concluded, I plan on talking about Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith for a good long while, so buckle up for that. Clearly, there is a lot of content to mine out of what will probably be the biggest blockbuster this year. Can you believe it’ll actually be in theaters in less than 3 days?

Jared and I went to Iowa’s largest non-Imax theater this weekend to purchase tickets in an advanced pre-sale for the midnight showing of Episode III this weekend. I didn’t want to see this movie in some generic multiplex. I wanted an honest-to-goodness MOVIE experience.

This theater is great. It doesn’t share screens, there’s only the one and it’s huge. The auditorium seats 800 and there’s not a bad seat in the house. At this point in history, it’s almost a throwback!

Makes me kind of sad that there aren’t more big screens like this anymore. There really should be. Don’t you think people would pay MORE for an honest movie-going experience? You’d think with the rise of DVD and satellite televisions, theaters would make a return to form and create an immersive experience. What about those old movie houses in the 50’s that had those great themes? Jungle movie house! Egyptian movie house! There’s an audience for this kind of thing, I swear. If I had the money to put behind an idea like this, I totally would.

Anyway, Wednesday night Jared and I are going to stand in line after work with our reserved ticket and tough it out with our nerd brethren for the last midnight showing I will likely subject myself to for a long time. Honestly, there isn’t another franchise that I can think of where I would do the same thing. It’s going to be a real treat to sit in a theater with 800 other people and know we’re all like-minded and ready to devote our whole attention to whatever flashes across the screen.

When you think about it, that’s what the movie-going experience SHOULD be. But instead you get cell-phones and crying babies and a girls volleyball team sitting behind you giggling like idiots for two hours. No respect at all. But when the lights go down on Episode III, I know the 800 of us are leaving all that disrespect at the door.

On paper, the idea of replacing Darth Vader’s dialogue from Star Wars with other random lines from James Earl Jones’s career sounds inventive, but not profoundly humorous.

Then you watch the video mash-up and realize how wrong you were.

For a generation that grew up knowing James Earl Jones from his roles in movies like Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America and Field of Dreams, you forget there was a period in the 70’s where he played a lot of tough talking soul bruthahs that are played to hilarious effect here.